PaYS Program Soldier Success Story

Ciara Brown: My name is Ciara Brown I’m from Baltimore, Maryland. I work at 1st Mariner Bank and I’m a full-time teller. When I joined the Army, I joined the Army Reserve and I signed up for the PaYS Program. The PaYs Programs guarantees me a job interview with 1st Mariners Bank, I chose 1st Mariners Bank because it helped me with my business administration degree.

Kathy Scott: My name is Kathy Scott and I am the branch market manager for the Cockeysville branch of 1st Mariner Bank. 1st Mariner Bank has been around since May 1995. They started out very small with about 20 employees. We are a Baltimore based bank and we offer the same products and services that the larger banks offer. However we try to do it in a friendlier way.

Ciara Brown: When I came home and I did this job interview it definitely gave me more confidence that I was able to get a job. Before I joined the Army I was very nervous, very nerve racking and I had less self-confidence that I would get the job. But after I joined military, came home I was like ‘I know I got the job’ it’s just a matter of when I’m start working.

Kathy Scott: When you hire a veteran as an employee, you find that they really listen and pay attention to what they’re asked to do and during instruction and they rarely need to be, to have it gone over again, they’re very quick in picking things up. We find that they are also very reliable and very outgoing in dealing with others.

Ciara Brown: I think that my training and experience helped me to be just a better employee all around more so because of the traits that we instill loyalty, discipline, leadership. It’s very difficult but it helped me to help teach me that I’m able to have these traits.

Kathy Scott: If we had a chance to have more veterans yes, I think it is a great fit. They’ve served us in the military and if we could possibly serve them in return that’s just a win / win situation for everybody.

Ciara Brown: The one piece of advice I would have to somebody considering joining the Army is do it, because there’s so many options and benefits even if you don’t go Active Duty in the reserve program or National guard there’s definitely options for you to better your career. You teach yourself things that you never knew that you were able to do.